Display what you have

Display what you have

What you display and how you display it is important. It plays a part in whether someone has their attention grabbed, takes interest or goes ahead and buys.

This applies online as well as for bricks and mortar businesses. (It’s just it’s easier to notice things in a shop or store).

One company which does displays well is Waterstones.

The bookstore has the usual arrangement of books. Fiction in one area of the shop. Non-fiction in another. Authors organised alphabetically from A to Z. Books segmented into subjects and topics – art, history, politics, religion, sport, travel, children’s and so on.

But Waterstones also understands readers… and the way they buy.

If you go into one of their stores, just watch the customers. It’s very rare to see someone just walk in, grab a title and purchase it at the till. They do something else first.

They browse.

Book lovers love to browse. They are curious about what is new, what they can see on display, and what they are shown.

This is why Waterstones has tables scattered around the store. Covered with carefully arranged selections of books. Like the one pictured here.

Not just a display of books. But a sign with it, explaining what’s here and why it may be of interest to the customer.

The blurb pictured says: “The books you have always wanted to read… Fascinating works of non-fiction, exploring the world we inhabit.”

And in the pile you may be able to see some of the classic titles on show: Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich‘, Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time‘ and Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything‘. To name but three.

It’s a smart way to display books.

And what’s happening here is just the offline version of what Amazon do so smoothly online. This table essentially says “If you like books which make you think you might like these”. It also says “If you pick up this one, you might also like the books next to it”. It encourages you to browse more, to buy more.

How are you using displays in store?

How are your products and services displayed online?

Need some help with how things are presented and positioned? Not one to display hype but if you’re looking for assistance with copy or marketing tactics, let’s start a conversation.